UPDATE: In 'transition,' Evolucia lets workforce go

Evolucia, a maker of high efficiency LED lighting systems, earlier announced it would produce a commemorative, illuminated baseball in conjunction with the New York Yankees' closer Mariano Rivera, who retired in 2013.

Published: Friday, April 4, 2014 at 11:53 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, April 4, 2014 at 5:14 p.m.

LAKEWOOD RANCH - Evolucia Inc., a lighting maker that during the past year appeared poised to evolve into a major Southwest Florida manufacturer and employer, this week sent much of its remaining workforce home while its chief executive Mel Interiano resigned and its stock plummeted to near zero.

Two other top Evolucia executives — vice president of global marketing Paul A. Montesino and vice president of sales Rick Racey — said they were laid off Tuesday, along with 10 to 15 remaining employees.

Those layoffs followed the purge of an unknown number of other employees during the past few months, former employees said.

At the start of the workday Friday, a lone car occupied the parking lot at the company’s Lakewood Ranch headquarters. Inside, long-time company investor and business adviser Craig Hall was one of the only people who appeared to be on site.

“The company is not dead,” Hall said Friday morning. “I would say, at this point, we are in a transition period.”

In a telephone conversation later that morning, Hall said, “for the people who were laid off, it is a temporary furlough.”

“We have got multiple employees and consultants still working,” he said, declining to elaborate.

A company statement, made public Friday around 1:30 p.m. by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, noted the staff reductions were part of “an effort to restructure and generate cost savings” but that “adequate staff” remained to maintain operations and assemble and ship products.

Evolucia managers added, however, that they could not guarantee that the staff reduction would be temporary.

Hall referred further questions Friday morning to company attorney Stephen M. Fleming of New York, who could not be reached for comment.

A statement released by Fleming’s office indicated “the company is not permitted to discuss the current state of operations with anyone, including bankers and reporters, unless such person is under a confidentiality agreement.”

Traded as an over-the-counter stock under the ticker symbol “ILED,” Evolucia had not made any announcement regarding any shift in operations until 1:30 p.m. Friday.

But stock traders had pushed the company’s price down in torrid trading Thursday and Friday — at one point making its stock worthless in terms of price.

By the close of regular trading on Friday, shares were selling for three-tenths of a penny.

At the end of the third quarter, the maker of light-emitting diode lighting had 1.24 billion shares outstanding.

By comparison, local hydraulic cartridge maker Sun Hydraulics Inc., with a market capitalization of about $1.1 billion, has about 26 million shares outstanding.

Before Friday, the last official announcement the Evolucia made to the SEC occurred on April 1, when former CEO Interiano stated a required Evolucia annual report — including fourth quarter results — would be late.

Interiano, a lighting industry veteran hired in early 2012 to bolster the company then known as Sunovia Energy Technologies Inc., could not be reached for comment on Thursday or on Friday.

His resignation “was not a result of any disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to the Company’s operations, policies or practices,” Evolucia noted in its SEC statement.

Evolucia said it is searching for a new CEO and “expects to engage a replacement in the near future.”

While the company has issued positive press releases during the past year concerning sales, new ventures and global partnerships, it has failed to generate much revenue — or profit.

In the years since becoming a publicly traded firm, the company had never produced an annual profit, records show.

In November, Evolucia reported it had a three-month net loss of $3.4 million compared with a year-earlier loss of $1.6 million. Sales totaled $725,278, down 37 percent from a year earlier.

Cash on hand at the end of the third quarter was $44,334, and the company reported “financing activities” raised $3.4 million.

Sarasota County government gave Evolucia $50,000 in March 2010 to help finance a move from south Manatee County to Sarasota County, amid promises the company would add 68 new employees within three years.

At the time, the new 61,000-square-foot headquarters — complete with plans for a “Lighting Technology and Research Center of Excellence” — appeared to be a tangible manifestation of the company’s continued success.

Since 2007, Evolucia had secured contracts to install its lights under the John Ringling Bridge in Sarasota; in Pompano Beach, a city near Fort Lauderdale on Florida’s east coast; at Chicago’s DePaul University; on Alaska’s Akutan Island; at a U.S. Air Force base in Aurora, Colo.; at a U.S. Navy base in Crete, Greece; and at the Marine’s famed Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

The new Lakewood Ranch headquarters was supposed to help Evolucia increase production to more than 300,000 lighting units per year by mid-2015, company engineers said last June.

That, in turn, was likely to lead to hiring more than 100, the company projected, at a time when lighting sales of all kinds were projected to rise to $113 billion annually by 2020.

Evolucia also had teamed with an impressive array of corporate partners, including Pacific Gas & Electric Co., of California; Solarmax International SA, of Colombia; the Mexican affiliate of Germany’s giant OSRAM lighting conglomerate; and Leader Electronics Inc., of Taiwan, which also invested $1 million in the company.

Last fall, in its most high-profile deal to date, Evolucia announced that it had partnered with Major League Baseball legend Mariano Rivera to produce a commemorative baseball with light-emitting diodes in it.

Interiano also hired numerous lighting industry veterans to positions such as “global director of quality,” “vice president of global strategies” and “innovation manager” for its research center.

Evolucia even acquired other firms and secured U.S. patents to build its corporate platform.

A year ago, it said that it would acquire Affineon Digital Lighting, of Coral Springs, which generated annual revenue of about $4 million.

In February, Evolucia announced it had been awarded a patent for its “Aimed Optics” technology.

But none of the deals, pairings or contracts were enough to generate a profit, according to the company’s SEC filings.

In 2012, Evolucia lost $6.2 million, on sales of $2.7 million. Through the first nine months of 2013, the company posted a net loss of $8.9 million, on revenue of $1.6 million.

EARLIER: Evolucia Inc., a lighting maker that over the past year appeared poised to evolve into a major Southwest Florida manufacturer and employer, this week sent much of its remaining workforce home as its stock plummeted to almost zero.

Two top Evolucia executives — vice president of global marketing Paul A. Montesino and vice president of sales Rick Racey — said they were laid off Tuesday, along with 10 to 15 remaining employees.

Those layoffs followed a purge of as many as three dozen employees over the past few months, former employees said.

On Friday, a lone car occupied the parking lot at the company's Lakewood Ranch headquarters. Inside, early company investor and business adviser Craig Hall was nearly alone.

“The company is not dead,” Hall said Friday. “I would say at this point we are in a transition period.”

He added in a telephone conversation late Friday morning that “for the people who were laid off, it is a temporary furlough.”

Those furloughs may include CEO Mel Interiano, a lighting industry veteran hired in 2012 to bolster the company. A woman who declined to provide her name at company headquarters Friday morning said Interiano is no longer employed by Evolucia, which had been known as Sunovia Energy Technologies Inc. until September 2012.

Hall referred inquiries to company attorney Stephen M. Fleming of New York, who could not be reached Friday morning.

But a company statement — released by Fleming's office in the late morning — indicated “the company is not permitted to discuss the current state of operations with anyone, including bankers and reporters, unless such person is under a confidentiality agreement,” according to regulations.

“We intend to put out an 8k filing no later than Monday,” the statement continued.

Traded as an over-the-counter stock under the ticker symbol ILED, Evolucia had not made any announcement of its changed status as of Friday morning.

But stock traders had pushed the company's price down in torrid trading Thursday and Friday — at one point making its stock worthless, at $0.00 per share.

The stock was trading for a fraction of a penny mid-morning on Friday. Over the past year, Evolucia stock had sold for as high as 3 cents per share.

Typically, 1.3 million shares of Evolucia would be bought and sold daily. By 11 a.m. Friday, 7.02 million shares had been exchanged, according to Yahoo Finance.

The last official announcement the company made to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission occurred on April 1, when Interiano stated a required Evolucia 10-K report — including fourth quarter results — would be late.

Interiano could not be reached for comment on Thursday or on Friday morning.

While the company has issued positive press releases over the past year about sales, new ventures and global partnerships, it has failed to generate much revenue.

In November, the company reported it had a three-month net loss of $3.4 million, vs. a year-earlier loss of $1.6 million. Sales totaled $725,278, down 37 percent from a year earlier.

Cash on hand at the end of the third quarter was $44,334, and the company reported “financing activities” raised $3.4 million.

Sarasota County government gave Evolucia $50,000 in March 2010 to help finance a move from South Manatee County to North Sarasota, amid promises the accompany would add 68 new employees within three years.

The company owns design rights aimed at getting more light out of light-emitting diodes for use in street lamps and in industry.

In February, Evolucia was awarded a parent for its “aimed optics LED lighting design.”

<p><em>LAKEWOOD RANCH</em> - Evolucia Inc., a lighting maker that during the past year appeared poised to evolve into a major Southwest Florida manufacturer and employer, this week sent much of its remaining workforce home while its chief executive Mel Interiano resigned and its stock plummeted to near zero.</p><p>Two other top Evolucia executives — vice president of global marketing Paul A. Montesino and vice president of sales Rick Racey — said they were laid off Tuesday, along with 10 to 15 remaining employees.</p><p>Those layoffs followed the purge of an unknown number of other employees during the past few months, former employees said.</p><p>At the start of the workday Friday, a lone car occupied the parking lot at the company's Lakewood Ranch headquarters. Inside, long-time company investor and business adviser Craig Hall was one of the only people who appeared to be on site.</p><p>“The company is not dead,” Hall said Friday morning. “I would say, at this point, we are in a transition period.”</p><p>In a telephone conversation later that morning, Hall said, “for the people who were laid off, it is a temporary furlough.”</p><p>“We have got multiple employees and consultants still working,” he said, declining to elaborate.</p><p>A company statement, made public Friday around 1:30 p.m. by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, noted the staff reductions were part of “an effort to restructure and generate cost savings” but that “adequate staff” remained to maintain operations and assemble and ship products.</p><p>Evolucia managers added, however, that they could not guarantee that the staff reduction would be temporary.</p><p>Hall referred further questions Friday morning to company attorney Stephen M. Fleming of New York, who could not be reached for comment.</p><p>A statement released by Fleming's office indicated “the company is not permitted to discuss the current state of operations with anyone, including bankers and reporters, unless such person is under a confidentiality agreement.”</p><p>Traded as an over-the-counter stock under the ticker symbol “ILED,” Evolucia had not made any announcement regarding any shift in operations until 1:30 p.m. Friday.</p><p>But stock traders had pushed the company's price down in torrid trading Thursday and Friday — at one point making its stock worthless in terms of price.</p><p>By the close of regular trading on Friday, shares were selling for three-tenths of a penny.</p><p>At the end of the third quarter, the maker of light-emitting diode lighting had 1.24 billion shares outstanding.</p><p>By comparison, local hydraulic cartridge maker Sun Hydraulics Inc., with a market capitalization of about $1.1 billion, has about 26 million shares outstanding.</p><p>Before Friday, the last official announcement the Evolucia made to the SEC occurred on April 1, when former CEO Interiano stated a required Evolucia annual report — including fourth quarter results — would be late.</p><p>Interiano, a lighting industry veteran hired in early 2012 to bolster the company then known as Sunovia Energy Technologies Inc., could not be reached for comment on Thursday or on Friday.</p><p>His resignation “was not a result of any disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to the Company's operations, policies or practices,” Evolucia noted in its SEC statement.</p><p>Evolucia said it is searching for a new CEO and “expects to engage a replacement in the near future.”</p><p>While the company has issued positive press releases during the past year concerning sales, new ventures and global partnerships, it has failed to generate much revenue — or profit.</p><p>In the years since becoming a publicly traded firm, the company had never produced an annual profit, records show.</p><p>In November, Evolucia reported it had a three-month net loss of $3.4 million compared with a year-earlier loss of $1.6 million. Sales totaled $725,278, down 37 percent from a year earlier.</p><p>Cash on hand at the end of the third quarter was $44,334, and the company reported “financing activities” raised $3.4 million.</p><p>Sarasota County government gave Evolucia $50,000 in March 2010 to help finance a move from south Manatee County to Sarasota County, amid promises the company would add 68 new employees within three years.</p><p>At the time, the new 61,000-square-foot headquarters — complete with plans for a “Lighting Technology and Research Center of Excellence” — appeared to be a tangible manifestation of the company's continued success.</p><p>Since 2007, Evolucia had secured contracts to install its lights under the John Ringling Bridge in Sarasota; in Pompano Beach, a city near Fort Lauderdale on Florida's east coast; at Chicago's DePaul University; on Alaska's Akutan Island; at a U.S. Air Force base in Aurora, Colo.; at a U.S. Navy base in Crete, Greece; and at the Marine's famed Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.</p><p>The new Lakewood Ranch headquarters was supposed to help Evolucia increase production to more than 300,000 lighting units per year by mid-2015, company engineers said last June.</p><p>That, in turn, was likely to lead to hiring more than 100, the company projected, at a time when lighting sales of all kinds were projected to rise to $113 billion annually by 2020.</p><p>Evolucia also had teamed with an impressive array of corporate partners, including Pacific Gas & Electric Co., of California; Solarmax International SA, of Colombia; the Mexican affiliate of Germany's giant OSRAM lighting conglomerate; and Leader Electronics Inc., of Taiwan, which also invested $1 million in the company.</p><p>Last fall, in its most high-profile deal to date, Evolucia announced that it had partnered with Major League Baseball legend Mariano Rivera to produce a commemorative baseball with light-emitting diodes in it.</p><p>Interiano also hired numerous lighting industry veterans to positions such as “global director of quality,” “vice president of global strategies” and “innovation manager” for its research center.</p><p>Evolucia even acquired other firms and secured U.S. patents to build its corporate platform.</p><p>A year ago, it said that it would acquire Affineon Digital Lighting, of Coral Springs, which generated annual revenue of about $4 million.</p><p>In February, Evolucia announced it had been awarded a patent for its “Aimed Optics” technology.</p><p>But none of the deals, pairings or contracts were enough to generate a profit, according to the company's SEC filings.</p><p>In 2012, Evolucia lost $6.2 million, on sales of $2.7 million. Through the first nine months of 2013, the company posted a net loss of $8.9 million, on revenue of $1.6 million.</p><p>EARLIER: Evolucia Inc., a lighting maker that over the past year appeared poised to evolve into a major Southwest Florida manufacturer and employer, this week sent much of its remaining workforce home as its stock plummeted to almost zero.</p><p>Two top Evolucia executives — vice president of global marketing Paul A. Montesino and vice president of sales Rick Racey — said they were laid off Tuesday, along with 10 to 15 remaining employees.</p><p>Those layoffs followed a purge of as many as three dozen employees over the past few months, former employees said.</p><p>On Friday, a lone car occupied the parking lot at the company's Lakewood Ranch headquarters. Inside, early company investor and business adviser Craig Hall was nearly alone.</p><p>“The company is not dead,” Hall said Friday. “I would say at this point we are in a transition period.”</p><p>He added in a telephone conversation late Friday morning that “for the people who were laid off, it is a temporary furlough.”</p><p>“We have got multiple employees and consultants still working,” Hall said, declining to elaborate.</p><p>Those furloughs may include CEO Mel Interiano, a lighting industry veteran hired in 2012 to bolster the company. A woman who declined to provide her name at company headquarters Friday morning said Interiano is no longer employed by Evolucia, which had been known as Sunovia Energy Technologies Inc. until September 2012.</p><p>Hall referred inquiries to company attorney Stephen M. Fleming of New York, who could not be reached Friday morning.</p><p>But a company statement — released by Fleming's office in the late morning — indicated “the company is not permitted to discuss the current state of operations with anyone, including bankers and reporters, unless such person is under a confidentiality agreement,” according to regulations.</p><p>“We intend to put out an 8k filing no later than Monday,” the statement continued.</p><p>Traded as an over-the-counter stock under the ticker symbol ILED, Evolucia had not made any announcement of its changed status as of Friday morning. </p><p>But stock traders had pushed the company's price down in torrid trading Thursday and Friday — at one point making its stock worthless, at $0.00 per share.</p><p>The stock was trading for a fraction of a penny mid-morning on Friday. Over the past year, Evolucia stock had sold for as high as 3 cents per share.</p><p>Typically, 1.3 million shares of Evolucia would be bought and sold daily. By 11 a.m. Friday, 7.02 million shares had been exchanged, according to Yahoo Finance.</p><p>The last official announcement the company made to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission occurred on April 1, when Interiano stated a required Evolucia 10-K report — including fourth quarter results — would be late.</p><p>Interiano could not be reached for comment on Thursday or on Friday morning.</p><p>While the company has issued positive press releases over the past year about sales, new ventures and global partnerships, it has failed to generate much revenue.</p><p>In November, the company reported it had a three-month net loss of $3.4 million, vs. a year-earlier loss of $1.6 million. Sales totaled $725,278, down 37 percent from a year earlier.</p><p>Cash on hand at the end of the third quarter was $44,334, and the company reported “financing activities” raised $3.4 million.</p><p>Sarasota County government gave Evolucia $50,000 in March 2010 to help finance a move from South Manatee County to North Sarasota, amid promises the accompany would add 68 new employees within three years.</p><p>The company owns design rights aimed at getting more light out of light-emitting diodes for use in street lamps and in industry.</p><p>In February, Evolucia was awarded a parent for its “aimed optics LED lighting design.”</p>